Module 20: Middle Adulthood Flashcards
What are the 6 Emotional Stages of Retirement?
- Pre-retirement
- Retirement
- Honeymoon Phase
- Disenchantment Phase
- Reorientation
- Stability Phase
Pre-Retirement
+ Planning the retirement
+ Critical time for setting up for success in retirement
+ Imagining ideal retirement, take stock for health, assess finances, building support network, decide when to retire
+ begin to think seriously about the life they want for themselves in retirement and whether they are financially on track to achieve it
Retirement
makes the transition from full-time work to retirement they’ve planned
Honeymoon Phase
+ Freedom
+ Enjoy newfound freedom and retirement
+ positive phase when retirees get to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of labor
+ Can also be a time of anxiety and uncertainty because they feel purposeless
Disenchantment Phase
+ What to do next?
+ Feel restless, aimless, and bored
+ Feeling worn out because of aimlessly trying to fill time with anything
+ Find clarity and do introspection work to connect with self and discover retirement purpose
+ Have realistic expectations, be proactive, and set life goals
+ They may experience some of the emotional downsides of retirements such as loneliness, disillusionment, and a feeling of uselessness
Reorientation
+ The New You
+ Redefining yourself and finding new purpose in retirement
+ Reassessing priorities
+ Great opportunity for self-discovery
+ People try to figure who they are and map their place in the world as a retiree
Stability Phase
+ Retirement Routine
+ Growth and contentment with new identity in retirement, and finding equilibrium
+ Settling into a new normal
+ Accepted retirement identity and created a daily routine that works for them
Among the OCEAN traits (Costa and Mcrae) what is the trait that has the highest level in middle adulthood? And why?
In middle adulthood, conscientiousness is the highest maybe due to result of work experiences
What traits (OCEAN; Costa and Mcrae) decrease in individuals who are unemployed during middle adulthood?
However, unemployed ones will show decrease in agreeableness and conscientiousness
What trait (OCEAN; Costa and Mcrae) decreases in middle-aged men who remarry?
Middle-aged men who remarry tend to become less neurotic
What trait (OCEAN; Costa and Mcrae) decreases in middle-aged men who divorce?
Middle-aged men who divorce decrease in extraversion
Generativity
+ involved finding meaning through contributing to society and leaving a legacy for future generations
+ parenting, teaching, mentorship, productivity, self-generation or self-development
+ “Maintenance of the work”
What is generativity associated with?
Associated with prosocial behaviors
Care
widening commitment to take care of persons, products, and the ideas one has learned to take care for
What is the crisis faced during middle adulthood (40-65 years old)
Generativity vs. Stagnation
What is the virtue developed after being successful in the crisis of Generativity vs. Stagnation?
Care
What happens to people who do not find generativity?
People who do not find generativity run the risk of becoming self-absorbed, self indulgent, and stagnant
Stagnation
disconnected from the communities because of their failure to contribute
What is the gender proportion of generativity?
Women report higher generativity than men
What is associated with greater generativity for men?
For men, having a child early is associated with greater generativity
What are the possible maladaptive tendencies faced in middle adulthood?
- Overextension
- Rejectivity
How long does the transition to middle adulthood last according to Levinson?
According to Levinson, it lasts about 5 years.
What does the transition to middle adulthood require (for men) according to Levinson?
It requires to adult male to come to grips with the four major conflicts
What are the four conflicts that men must go through to successfully transition to middle adulthood according to Levinson?
(1) being young vs old;
(2) being destructive versus being constructive;
(3) being masculine vs. feminine;
(4) being attached to others vs. separated from them
How is midlife described as a crisis?
Midlife as a crisis, arguing that middle aged adults is suspended between past and the future, trying to cope with this gap that threatens life’s continuity
Midlife Crisis
changes in personality and lifestyle during middle forties
What do people realize during midlife crisis?
Many people realize that they will not be able to fulfill the dreams of their youth, or that fulfillment of their own mortality
Who are the people who usually have a midlife crisis?
People who do have crisis at midlife generally also have crises at other times in their lives as well
What is midlife crisis a manifestation of?
Manifestation of a neurotic personality rather than developmental phase
Turning Point
psychological transition that involves significant change or transformation in the perceived meaning, purpose, or direction of a person’s life
What is the turning point in someone’s life triggered by?
Triggered by major life events, normative changes, or a new understanding of past experience
Midlife Review
involves recognizing the finiteness of life and can be a time of taking stock, discovering new insights about the self, and spurring midcourse corrections in the design and trajectory of one’s life
Developmental Deadlines
time constraints on
Ego Resiliency
the ability to adapt flexibly and resourcefully to potential source of stress
Identity Process Theory (IPT)
physical characteristics, cognitive abilities, and personality traits are incorporation into identity schemas (Susan Krauss Whitbourne)
Assimilation
interpretation of new information via existing cognitive structure
Accommodation
involves changing cognitive structures to more closely align with what is encountered
Identity Assimilation
involves holding onto a consistent sense of self in the face of new experiences that do not fit the current understanding of the self
Identity Accommodation
involves adjusting the identity schema to fit new experiences
Identity Balance
stable sense of self while adjusting their self-schemas to incorporate new information
Narrative Psychology
views the development of self as a continuous process of constructing one’s life story
Generativity Scripts
+ feature redemption and associated with psychological well-being
+ Increase in positive emotions through early adulthood to old age
Empty Nest
occurs when the youngest child leaves
home
What does the departure of children increase in a good marriage?
In a good marriage, departure of children generally increases marital satisfaction
Revolving Door Syndrome or Boomerang
Phenomenon
returning to parent’s home, sometimes with their own families
What may prolonged parenting lead to?
Prolonged Parenting may lead to intergenerational tension when it contradicts parent’s normative expectations
What do positive relationships with parents contribute to during midlife?
Positive relationships with parents contribute to a strong sense of self and to emotional well-being at midlife
Filial Crisis
adults learn to balance love and duty to their parents with autonomy in a two-way relationship
Sandwich Generation
caught in squeeze between the competing needs of their own children and the emerging needs of their parents
Caregiver Burnout
a physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that can affect adults who care for aged relatives
Respite Care
giving caregivers some time off
What kind of relationship can be central to psychological well-being in midlife?
Relationships with siblings who remain in contact can be central to psychological well-being in midlife
What kind of relationships do grandmothers tend to have with their grandchildren?
Grandmothers have closer, warmer, more
affectionate relationships with their grandchildren
Kinship Care
grandparents that provides care but don’t become foster parents or gain custody, have no legal status and few rights
